Shion Lan looked toward the place where Shun Ranus had escaped, suppressing his anger and frustration.
Meanwhile, his father's first wife shouted as the guards restrained her,
"My son survived! Now he can return and take revenge after becoming stronger!"
But Shion did not answer her. He merely cast her a cold glance before walking away. The woman continued screaming,
"Enjoy yourself while you can! Because in the end, you'll be killed!"
Shion ignored her words and walked toward Trevry Treati, who had been pinned to the ground by the spears of the head of the Shine family.
One after another, the heads of the Six Great Families arrived. Each handled something different—securing the area, protecting the civilians, pursuing those hiding in the shadows—and each began giving their reports.
Among them, Solan Neumann was explaining her condition. When Shion approached, he heard her clearly,
"The condition for performing the spell is the presence of Lord Lan."
Shion was startled by the statement, and even King Jord Joul seemed confused.
However, the king said,
"There is nothing wrong with having preferences toward certain people, but you should not mix your personal feelings with your duties."
Solan replied indifferently,
"Duties? I'm already dead anyway, so why should I care about my work?"
This time, Shion intervened.
"Solan, are you really going to handle your duties this way?"
The moment Solan sensed the tone in Shion's voice, she became anxious and quickly said apologetically,
"No! That's not what I meant! It's just…"
"Do you want me to get angry at you?"
"!!!!"
Solan trembled at his threat, remembering that he hated this sort of behavior.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but Shion truly needs to be present!"
Ignoring the strange nature of their relationship, the king said,
"We need more details, Lady Neumann."
Solan hurriedly explained,
"The spell works by transferring the damage of a soul onto another person, causing unbearable pain that prevents them from resisting. I believe it can affect sealing spells used to lock information and break them, allowing us to destroy the seal and extract information from him!"
Once they understood the nature of the spell, everyone turned toward Shion, whose soul was nearly destroyed and therefore suitable for such a method.
When Shion realized this, he gently patted Solan's head and apologized,
"Sorry for getting angry earlier."
Solan shook her head.
"It's alright. I didn't explain properly, so I deserved it…"
King Jord interrupted,
"I hate to ruin this touching moment, but we have work to do."
Shion nodded and walked together with Solan toward Trevry, who remained motionless.
Solan said,
"Place your hand on his head. This way, he'll feel all the pain at once."
Shion placed his hand on Trevry's head, while Solan put her hand against Shion's back and began channeling her magic.
"Shion, you'll feel the energy flowing through you. All you need to do is redirect it into this idiot."
Solan summoned the Spirit Lantern and began chanting her spell while spirits surrounded her. Her magic appeared to exceed her own level, yet she continued,
"(Spirit Magic: Damage Transfer)!"
Massive waves of soul energy flowed from her translucent hand into Shion's body, and suddenly, every agonizing pain he had ever suffered manifested inside him once more.
Painful expressions appeared on his face.
At the same time, Trevry also began suffering.
He screamed in agony.
The king and nobles stared at the horrifying scene before them. The pain Trevry was experiencing was identical to Shion's suffering, yet the difference between them was obvious.
Shion felt as though he could no longer endure it and gritted his teeth,
"Can I use my power to withstand this?!"
But then he noticed the spirits surrounding Solan beginning to disappear—they were sharing the burden with him.
Beneath her concealment, he saw Solan trying to ease some of his suffering while simultaneously repairing him.
Another spell reacted inside him.
'Is that… (Spirit Magic: Soul Healing)?'
Some techniques and spells could only reveal their true potential when combined together.
Shion realized she was transferring the damage while healing him at the same time.
He had never asked her to do that.
Seeing her silently endure his injuries filled him with rage. His stellar aura activated violently as he attempted to cancel the spell.
But suddenly, he sensed something strange within himself.
'This thread…?!'
He felt his companion on the other side.
Solan's first spell reached him, and with time, the spell passed into Trevry, who continued screaming in agony until his eyes suddenly widened—
—and he fell silent.
Without realizing it, Shion caught a brief glimpse of Shi Yun Lan's world.
It was not because of the veins, but because of Solan's spell.
The sky was gray, covered with black clouds dripping with gloomy rain. Alongside the ordinary rain fell crimson drops of blood carrying the stench of death.
Shion witnessed an unforgettable sight.
Shi Yun Lan's family palace was burning.
Corpses protruded from the flames.
For a moment, Shion felt his heart stop.
When he returned to reality, sweat drenched his body.
He looked toward Trevry—the once mocking man now lay on the ground pale-faced and unable to speak.
Then Shion remembered Solan.
She staggered weakly, nearly collapsing before he caught her.
"Why did you do this?!"
Solan looked surprised.
"You're crying?"
Only then did Shion notice the tears running down his face. He trembled briefly before wiping them away.
"Forget my tears. Why did you do this?!"
Solan answered sadly,
"I felt guilty watching you suffer like this, so I decided to help you. I knew the risks of the spell, and because I didn't want to hurt you further, I endured it without telling you… because I knew you would never allow it."
He whispered into her ear,
"Go home and wait until I finish things here."
"But—"
"No buts!"
Shion glared at her angrily, leaving her no choice but to obey and leave.
Shion noticed that the king was interrogating Trevry alongside someone he had never seen before. However, only one possibility came to Shion's mind,
The Shadow Forces… they were the ones with the questions and the information they needed uncovered.
Shion returned to his seat and saw that the Blazing Flame had prepared themselves once again. He could sense traces of embarrassment behind their masks, but he paid no attention and sat down quietly.
Meanwhile, the king and the leader of the Shadow Forces interrogated Trevry rapidly.
Strangely enough, Trevry did not resist at all. He answered every question without hesitation.
The king thought,
'His soul has completely shattered. He no longer sees any value in remaining alive. Nothing matters to him anymore.
But the Kingdom of Amoritchi is truly sinister… They distribute multiple layers of false information so extensively that many officials themselves do not know the truth and believe their own information is genuine.
Yet every piece of information ultimately serves another person's objective, and if each individual acts according to their own "truth," all their actions will unknowingly serve the kingdom's true goal.
As for that goal… we still do not know it. Even Trevry only knows that the information is distributed. Nothing more.'
The king asked,
"What about Shun Ranus and Jayden? Why were you so desperate to obtain them?!"
Trevry replied lifelessly,
"I know nothing about Jayden… but as for Shun Ranus, he was raised using the Artificial Rings and Stars. Had he not been pretending, he could have obtained far greater power."
They continued questioning him for some time but learned nothing more about Jayden's importance. However, it became clear that Shun might one day cause a catastrophe.
After most of their questions were answered and Trevry could provide nothing further, they decided to execute him.
"The Light Gazette! Broadcast the execution throughout the entire kingdom!"
The mages activated their magic, and enormous screens appeared across the kingdom—in streets and plazas among the commoners, inside noble estates, along the border armies, and even within the halls of Karath Academy.
Everyone saw Trevry lying on the ground as King Jord declared,
"This man, Trevry Treati, trespassed upon our kingdom and caused the escape of two condemned criminals. He is also one of the agents of the Kingdom of Amoritchi! I, Jord Joul, hereby sentence him to death by beheading!"
With one smooth motion of his sword, the king severed Trevry's head.
Across the kingdom, the people shouted,
"Death to agents and traitors! Death to agents and traitors!"
The king then looked toward the remaining condemned prisoners and ordered,
"Blazing Flame! Begin the mass execution!"
The mages spread their magic across the entire platform, and through the manipulation of aura, guillotines, gallows, and countless execution devices formed before each prisoner.
Terror filled their eyes.
Shion gazed at them calmly before finally closing his eyes.
"Farewell… my miserable past."
Bodies rose into the air.
Heads flew.
Hearts were pierced by arrows and spears.
And with the completion of the executions, the entire incident finally came to an end.
Each noble departed on their own path, but the head of the Jura family stopped Shion and requested to speak with him privately.
Shion went with him and asked,
"How may I serve the head of the Jura family?"
The man replied,
"I understand why you don't wish to come to my family, but what about the Kito family?"
Shion answered,
"They didn't seek refuge with me. They sought the king's protection that I happen to possess."
The man asked,
"Do you not wish to abandon them?"
Shion replied,
"If I had known you wanted them, I would have left them. Unfortunately, I already gave them my word, and I cannot break it."
The man sighed irritably.
"I'll give you anything you want. Just hand over Enfel Kito—even if you don't surrender the rest of his family."
Shion narrowed his eyes.
"I don't understand your obsession with collecting talents. And what I understand even less is why the other families allow you to do whatever you want with talented people. Don't tell me they have a spirit of fair competition."
The family head laughed mockingly.
"spirit of fair competition? Even I don't possess that. It's simply an unspoken agreement among us. Each family has its role whenever a talent appears, and no one has the right to interfere in another's affairs."
Shion thought for a moment before asking,
"The subordinate families under you possess those talents?"
The man smiled.
"You have sharp instincts, boy. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the Light family belongs to the Night family despite their opposing elements. That was because it was the Night family's turn to obtain their talent."
Shion finally understood the structure of the nobles and realized that everything had been built upon the whims and luck of the Six Great Families.
In the end, Shion said,
"I will not join any family anytime soon. And until the king's protection over me ends, you cannot obtain Enfel. When the time comes, you may attempt to recruit him again."
The man replied,
"The king's protection will continue until you reach the sixth level. I'm not waiting that long."
Shion answered calmly,
"I plan to reach the sixth level before I graduate."
The family head was stunned by Shion's ambition before bursting into laughter.
Yet his laughter slowly faded beneath Shion's gaze as the young man declared,
"It's not like I tell nonsense. I have to reach the ninth level as soon as I can."